Constitutional Law: Themes for the Constitution's Third Century (American Casebook Series) [Hardcover]

Daniel A. Farber (Author), William N., Jr. Eskridge (Author), Philip P. Frickey (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 031414353X | ISBN-13: 978-0314143532 | Publication Date: June 2003 | Edition: 3

The authors have tried to provide some historical context for modern doctrine, and to give at least a brief treatment of less contentious areas of law. They also have tried to show students how these issues pervade constitutional law and to provide students with tools for more intense thinking. The authors start with Brown v. Board of Education and the historical litigation background of that case to generate greater initial enthusiasm in students.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 1256 pages
• Publisher: West Group; 3 edition (June 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 031414353X
• ISBN-13: 978-0314143532
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 7.7 x 2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #324,396 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Useless casebook, May 11, 2008

By 

EJR (Boston, MA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Constitutional Law: Themes for the Constitution's Third Century (American Casebook Series) (Hardcover)

This book is useless. As a naive 1L I wasted my time diligently trying to read the cases. By the end of the semester I finally realized that Chemerinsky's treatise told me everything I needed to know in about 25% of the words.

I agree with the previous reviewer's point that the text between cases is NOT analysis. It is just filler that is unenlightening. Save your money. Buy Chemerinsky's treatise instead. Don'just take my word for it: check out the average Amazon rating and the number of reviews for his treatise.

5.0 out of 5 stars book is a good one, September 13, 2010

By 

J. Murphy - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Constitutional Law: Themes for the Constitution's Third Century, 4th (American Casebooks) (Hardcover)

This case book does a great job of presenting the cases and materials in an interesting manner that makes for easy reading.

4 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Terrible waste of money, June 24, 2007

By 

J. Ocampo (New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Constitutional Law: Themes for the Constitution's Third Century (American Casebook Series) (Hardcover)

I'm just trying to tell you how to save 100 bucks. Don't buy this book. It is nothing special, it's just a book full of Supreme Court cases.

Supreme Court cases are published everywhere, you can type the parties of almost any case into a search engine and get a complete text of a case online for FREE. Some textbooks are assembled in a manner that helps the student understand the most important aspects of a body of law. This book does not do this. All it does is present the cases in an unorganized form. The author doesn't even bother to sum up the current body of Constitutional Law. He just mechanically presents the cases and asks rhetorical questions.

There is no reason for you to dish out a bill to get this worthless book. The analysis between Supreme Court cases is NOT really analysis. The pathetic author just asks rhetorical questions about the ruling and they contribute NOTHING to understanding the body of Constitutional Law.

If you are a student on a budget, don't buy this book. Look at your Constitutional Law class syllabus, see which cases you are discussing, and pull them up on the web.

If you are a trust baby, then buy this book so you can look like part of the crowd. But if you'd rather spend the hundred bucks on something else, then don't waste your money.